a weekend away

my sweet mom came in for the weekend, so we could get away...


the reason for the trip was to celebrate rob's best friend, bo.  they've been friends since before kindergarten :)  and he was getting married!


rob was a best man in the wedding and gave a sweet toast.  i was proud.


it was nice to enjoy the quick weekend without the little ones.  i even made it to the pool for an hour or so and wasn't playing lifeguard.  i couldn't tell you the last time that happened!


old friends had some catching up to do.  it's amazing how fast time passes.  we were so happy to be apart of bo's big day and wish both him and becky a lifetime of love and happiness.  congratulations y'all!

little leprechauns

little leprechauns showed up at our house, bright and early one morning.  they used emma's fairy house as a centerpiece for the table.  you know, those fast little red-haired dudes love rainbows, gold, and anything the color green :)


they left these for the littles....


which brought a smiling face for this one.  her little imagination was running wild that morning.  she is 100% convinced that she saw quick little feet running through the house :)


they also brought leprechaun cereal...which i'm a little embarrassed to say that emma truly thinks this cereal is straight from the irish leprechauns themselves.  we try to limit the processed food in our house, so she has no clue you can buy a box from the grocery store. that makes it all the more special, right?  the cereal came complete with green milk.


bro was in love with the marshmallows, and picked them ALL out :)  they also left both of the littles a green "kiss me, i'm irish" t-shirt to match.  i love it when they match :)  i can't wait for st. patrick's day next year...this was so fun and so, so easy!

Off to the Strawberry Farm...

We headed off to the strawberry farm for our annual picking.


The littles were so excited, and so was I!  This is one of my most favorite outings :)


Despite the drizzling rain, the berries were beautiful and plentiful.


And, we had Daddy with us this time, which was such a special treat!


He finally got to see what we were talking about all these years...2011 and 2010.


Bro loved it!


And, I just can't get enough of his curls!


He took him all of about....hmmm...30 seconds to figure out how to find a berry.


And then pick the berry....


And then eat it....yum!


So sweet!


Miss Emma looked forward to our strawberry picking trip for days.


She knows just what to do, and I will say her pickings were nearly perfect this year :)


She filled her bucket, and with all the mud, I was so thankful for the rain boots!


She always runs the rows.


Carson joined in too.


We ended with a family shot.


And, although we were done, Bro was still eating.


I don't think he ever stopped eating those strawberries....immediate gratification at its finest.  Pick and eat. Repeat.


They really do love each other.  And it's SO fun taking them places now...both of them are old enough to participate :)


We headed off to have our berries weighed, bought some fresh veggies & homemade jerky, and ate our picnic lunch together.  It was a fun family outing :)

my puddle jumpers :)

i am in love with this next photo sequence...

 

it seems that i now have two littles that love the puddles :)

bro can't wait for it to rain now.

he points to the window and says, "rainin...yeah!"

we're in a pretty happy place right now. there's so many fun things to do with these two and they both love each other so much.

random & wandering thoughts & photos

when i sit down to blog, well...my mind bounces all of the place. here's the proof :)

• i'm a costco junkie. seriously. it's out of control. i went today, cashed my money back check (we have their amex), and spent a little more. it's the best. store. ever. it's so much better than sams...more organic, higher quality, and just sheerly amazing.
• i guess you know you're a mom when you think a grocery warehouse is the best. store. ever.

• reason #658 of why i love costco...i am re-using their containers to organize my pantry.
• i asked rob for ikea spice jars instead of flowers for valentine's day. yes, i am a freak. so i got the spice jars and the flowers (best hubby ever), but then the madness continued...

• i smile now when i look in my pantry. sick, i know.
• i'm not done yet. i want blackboard paint labels on all of the jars :)
• carson had his 2 year well baby today. i actually feel like he's heavy now when i hold him. miss emma never felt like that.
• bro's weight % is higher than his length %, so i think we're airing on the side of shorter and stockier :) new for me.

• emma was long and lean from conception. they're all different aren't they?

• this week, i've been working on the season change out for emma and carson's clothes. does this stress y'all out too?

• pull the winter clothes out that are too little. pull the "in-between hot and cold clothes" (you would only know about this if you live in the south) out from the winter. move the winter up high. move the spring down low. filter through the old spring clothes to see what still fits. add back in those "in-between hot and cold clothes," take inventory...what they need, what needs an undershirt, what needs leggings...geez!

• you're left with piles all over the house. "to donate" "to put up from the winter" "to put up from last spring" "to mend"
• all times two or however many littles you have :)
• the piles are awesome when your house is still on the market.
• and when you are having open houses every weekend.

• when i think i'm about to go crazy, i just go look at my pantry :)
• we finished our thank you notes today....for our christmas gifts! less than a quarter late still counts, right? emma got a great lesson on penmanship and manners.

• it's like spring here, which is so wonderful. emma & carson have been outside playing so much lately. carson is so happy outside.
• we have plans to go strawberry picking. this is one of my favorite things to do. ever. and we have plans to bring our daddy along this time.
• emma has already requested strawberry popsicles from our pickings :)
• this was emma's art from church a few weeks ago....

• is it obvious that our house is on the market?
• it all makes me sad. it really does. we had a whole discussion about emma's talents...dancing, drawing, making bro laugh, and at the end of it all, she said, "but mom, i am still really good at cleaning up the playroom."
• "but emma, you are really good at dancing too." isn't she a doll?

• the truth is, she is really good. she can whip that sucker into shape for any showing or open house that comes our way.
• but she's five, and she told me that she hates open houses. and one of her little friends prayed for her the other night, because "emma needs to move really, really bad."
• i know there are worse situations to be in, but if you have an extra prayer or two for us and for our house selling, i know miss emma would be ever so grateful. her momma would too.
• bro says, "no way" now when you ask him something. perfect, isn't it?
• i scheduled dentist appointments today. it's been 2 years since emma went and 10 months for me. You know it's bad when your five year old is on you repeatedly for that appointment.
• we grilled out the other night & we can't wait for the time to change!

• our sweet babysitter took emma ice skating...

• it was her first time on the ice. ever. and. she loved it.

these were our fortunes from p.f.changs on our much needed night out. rob's was the top one, and mine was the bottom. if "traveling hopefully" means our house isn't selling, i am not a fan. as for me writing a book, let's consider this it.

hugs :)